


Why Do You Only Kiss Me When I’m Sleeping?

by Squeemish



Series: Lizard Love Prompts From The Tumblr [1]
Category: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: First Kiss, In case you were worried, M/M, Platonic Bed Sharing, Post-Canon Cardassia, first kiss happens while both are concious, which is heavily implied to turn into a mature snuggle time
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-05
Updated: 2017-12-05
Packaged: 2019-02-10 22:54:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12921948
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Squeemish/pseuds/Squeemish
Summary: Dialogue prompt: "Why do you only kiss me when I'm sleeping?"Garak confronts Julian about an issue they're having.





	Why Do You Only Kiss Me When I’m Sleeping?

**Author's Note:**

> Dialogue prompt "Why do you only kiss me when I’m sleeping"
> 
> Thank you very much for the prompter, this was a lot of fun to write!

**68\. “Why do you only kiss me when I’m sleeping?”**

The first time a light peck was placed on Garak’s forehead he nearly died. Lips touched his skin and from them poison must have spread, for his heart sped up and roared in his ears while his lungs seized their work completely. No breath was left in him. He was no more. Gone. Dead. Next to him the assailant slept, unashamed of the murder he’d committed. Garak could only stare at the creature, how his chest rose with breaths Garak no longer had, how the tiny puffs of air escaped from his mouth. Eyes closed, his dark lashes looked like painted lines of kohl. If Garak hadn’t been busy dying, he might have brushed his finger over one of the curved lines. Instead he stared. Stared until his eyelids grew too heavy, and darkness at last claimed him.

In the morning, Garak miraculously found himself still breathing. Soon it became clear Julian wasn’t home, as it was too quiet. That, and he’d also left a note by Garak’s tailoring tools. Off to the clinic. Back later for lunch.

 

Garak sighed. Nothing to do, but to get up, go to work and build back a nation.

 

They’d shared a bed on and off for a month. The old shack Garak had chosen as his home was small, and originally Julian had stayed with the rest of Federation volunteers near the clinic, where plenty of space was available. Yet everyday, if duties permitted, Julian would visit Garak in his very humble home, often staying late. On one such occasion, common courtesy had forced Garak to offer a place by his side for the night. A platonic, friendly place. To Garak’s unbridled joy, Julian had accepted.

 

Kisses had not been a part of the deal, however. Had Garak known he’d be receiving one, he would have offered more than a manky mattress. His heart, for starters. Then sex. No. Sex should be first. Heart was for later.

 

Or it would be, if it were still his.

 

Julian returned for lunch as he’d promised. Garak didn’t mention the incident. He wanted to wait, catch him red handed, preferably while not suffocating from excitement. Next time, he’d be ready.

 

Five days passed, and no more sneaky kisses were bestowed on him. Garak fumed. Games were all well and good, but this was unacceptable. Sleeping had become a highly anticipated event for him, only for every evening to end in disappointment. For the past two nights Julian hadn’t even stayed over. What was he supposed to do when Julian didn't even _stay_?

 

The next day was no different. Frustrating and long, for a variety of reasons. Democracy had it’s perks, but by heavens, decisions were impossible to make. Garak had left his meeting early, he had no appetite for pettiness today, and had headed home. His mind was otherwise occupied anyway. In his garden there was chair, and he’d dozed off in it for a moment after dinner, which he ate alone as Julian was having his with a colleague.  

 

Then it happened.

 

A kiss. Near his hairline, and light as a feather. He snapped his eyes open, hoping to face Julian, but he wasn’t there. Garak leaped onto his feet and sneaked over to the door, already open, as it often tended to be, and inside the shack he spotted him. Julian. Eating. As if nothing was amiss.

 

”Doctor.”

 

Julian turned his eyes away from his meal, and smiled at him, bright as ever.

 

”Afternoon, my dear Mr. Garak. My dinner date cancelled, so I thought I’d come by after all-” The stern look Garak gave him made Julian’s smile fade into a disappointed frown. He cleared his throat and began to rise.

 

”Unless you’d prefer I go-”

 

“Tell me Doctor…” Garak said and stepped inside.

 

“Why do you only kiss me when I’m sleeping?”

 

Panic, the truest indicator of guilt, swelled in Julian’s eyes, and Garak suppressed his tremor of glee. It wouldn’t do, not yet.

 

”I… I don’t- I haven’t- I mean,  _what_?” Julian stammered as he backed away, ending up against a wall.

 

Garak arched his eye ridge and took a step closer. Julian tensed, but stayed put. They were only inches apart, and Garak marvelled the calm with which he'd managed to conduct himself so far. Well worth a few long days of planning. 

 

And then Julian narrowed his eyes at Garak, crossing his arms.

 

”If I kissed you when you were asleep, how would you know?” Not so easy to scare anymore, was he? Not like when they’d first met.

 

Garak’s answer was to rise his eye ridge higher.

 

“I wasn’t asleep.” He admitted. The moment he uttered the sentence, Garak sensed he’d made a mistake. Grinning awkwardly, Julian cleared his throat.

 

“Well then. I didn’t kiss you when you were sleeping. Case closed. Now if you don’t mind, I’d like to finish my dinner.”

 

Julian patted his shoulder and pushed his way past. Garak let him. It wasn’t a denial, not by any means, but evasion wasn’t much better. Silent, he remained where he’d been left. Behind him the chair scraped against the floor and Julian presumably continued his meal. What had he expected? If only he’d waited until Julian was ready, but no. He’d had to push. Years of waiting, and suddenly he couldn’t manage a few more weeks or months. 

 

His home was dust, a new one slowly being build, and he was tired. Too old to play these kinds of games. Too tired to fight the hurt. He should ask Julian to leave, and in the future politely deny a request to stay, though he might never ask again anyway–

 

”Uhm. Garak?”

 

Sighing, Garak turned around.

 

“Yes, Doctor?”

 

 _Hands_. Warm and soft, curled over his cheeks as Julian pulled him near and kissed him. On the lips. Garak melted into it, weaved his arms around Julian’s waist and hugged him closer while Julian’s right hand moved to his hair, all the way to the nape. He grabbed a fistful and pulled. Garak opened his mouth in a soft moan and let Julian lick the seam of his lips, squeezing him tighter when he pushed the tip of his tongue inside. All air left his body, and there was nothing, he was nothing but fire and joy, brittle material, and this is where he would break. Here, he would die, in this embrace, in this warmth.

 

“Garak.”

 

Julian sighed into his ear. It tickled. He might have hummed an answer of sorts, he must have, since Julian laughed and pushed him toward the mattress.

 

Dying, as it turned out, was a wonderful experience.

 

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> If you saw this on tumblr and are now convinced it was bit different there, you are correct. I edited. A bit. Couldn't resist. Oops.  
> [Original post on Tumblr](https://i-am-a-bit-squeemish.tumblr.com/post/168200781267/68-for-the-garashir-thing)
> 
>  [My Tumblr in general](https://i-am-a-bit-squeemish.tumblr.com/)


End file.
